Tuesday, 25 February 2014

Is Catherine Ashton completely mad?

I just can't believe what I'm reading in the Telegraph - that an unelected EU official of unparalleled stupidity has presumed to commit the EU to one particular potential candidate in the presidential elections of a foreign nation. As an act of diplomatic crassness this can have no equal; has no one ever explained to Ashton that it's never, never done to openly support one candidate or party in another country's democratic process?Dear God, the women must be off her head - what does she imagine she's doing? Is she deliberately trying to undo all the hard work others have put into stressing that the West must give room to an inclusive solution in Ukraine, one that takes Russian interests into consideration?Tymoshenko is a woman of immense wealth with no cogent explanation of how it was lawfully acquired - she is no different from the others of the Ukranian oligarchy who through fraud, corruption and political manipulation have amassed huge fortunes at the expense of the Ukranian people. She has declined to put her hat in the ring for the PM's job but hasn't ruled herself out for the Presidential top spot, even though the old 2004 constitution denies the President many of the powers wielded by Yanokovych. There is no great groundswell of enthusiasm in Ukraine for Tymoshenko's candidacy; many want rid of her and her entire corrupt class. Yet it seems Ashton, a crass amateur playing at international diplomacy, is to commit the EU behind her. Unbelievable. Why that pig-headedly stupid undemocratic unelected failure of an EU placeman can't leave things to the experienced foreign ministries of old European states with centuries of experience at such matters is inexplicable.

Update 16.40============The Telegraph have now pulled the piece reporting that Ashton gave the EU's full backing to Tymoshenko .... curiouser and curiouser

12 comments:

We've all known for long enough that the whole foul edifice reeks of hubris, and so we should not be surprised that this loathsome woman should be making these moves.

The same attitude is currently bankrupting southern Europe and blighting the lives of a generation who will likely never get over the economic damage caused by the Euro as their countries economies are hollowed out.

The difference in the Ukraine is that they are up against professionals schooled in the KGB with over a century's experience in meddling and manipulating ruthlessly in the affairs of their near abroard, and so we can be fairly certain the Ashton plan (if there is one) will go tits up at the first opportunity.

The only unknown is how much it will cost us, EU tax payers in cash or lost trade opportunities, what it will cost the Ukrainian people on terms of lost development opportunities and finger/toe nails, and let's for god's sake hope she manages to avoid triggering a war.

2) Absolutely horrified at what she has said, the Governments of a number of European Governments, including the United Kingdom, tell Ashton to shut her stupid mouth before she does even more damage, and point out they will not back her position.

3) The EU machine (together with those same Governments) has to kick into full gear and seeks to pull any mention of it from the media before any more damage is done.

I thought I was going mad. I mentally noted the DT piece on Ashton to go back to read the detail later - then spent too much time trying to look for it.Anyway, it confirmed what a complete loony she is - but I won't add anything more as you (Radders) and previous commenters have said it all.

The parlous economic state of the Ukraine is often overlooked. If the EU association treaty had been agreed, Ukrainian industry (mostly in the Russian-speaking East) would have been destroyed as totally as East Germany's on reunification - but without the slightest possibility of a social and economic safety net such as the West Germans provided for their Eastern brethren at enormous cost.

The deal the Russians offered was certainly the better of the two - continued access to the Russian market, a substantial bail out and a heavily discounted price for gas. That is all now suspended .

The fascists and pro German puppets like the retired boxer Klitschko will face an even more impoverished people, if their bid to overthrow the government finally does succeed. See also the independent German websitewww.german-foreig-policy.com andwww.freenations.freeuk.comfor further developments.

The following quotation also came my way from Dr. Tony Coughlan of the Eurosceptic Irish National Platform

"Russia must be thrust back as far as possible from Germany's eastern borders and her dominance over the non-Russian vassal peoples broken....We must create a Central European economic association through common customs treaties to include France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Austria-Hungary, Poland and perhaps Italy, Sweden an Norway.

This association will not have any common constitutional supreme authority and all its members will be formally equal but in practice will be under German leadership and must stabilise German dominance over Central Europe"THEOBALD VON BETHMANN HOLLWEG,IMPERIAL GERMAN CHANCELLOR9 September 1914

Well, we do now have a "common constitutional supreme authority " in the EU Commission but, apart from that old Theo's policy is in force

Yes, in answer to your question.The brave & determined people of Kiev & the Ukraine have thrown the murderer Yushenko out.BUTThey DO NOT WANT ANY OF the "previous lot" back in, including her .....This sort of thing will only encourage Putin to try his luck, in the same way as he has bullied Gerogia.Stupid doesn't even begin to desrcibe it.

At the same time, I don't susbscribe to Edward Spalton's "Hate-the-Hun" fantasies, either.

With respect G Tingey, I don't think E Spalton is being anti-hun - he is merely reminding us of something important that was said 100 years ago and has resonance today, especially when we think where Hollweg subsequently brought us.

And I'd go easy on the "brave patriots" rhetoric as well, if I were you, as I suspect there are plenty of corrupt vested interests behind the scenes.

The political outlook (Weltanschauung) of an influential part of the German political class has been remarkably stable since the early 19th century when they created a very successful "Common Market" between the then many German states.

This always included the idea that a great deal of surrounding territory would be in its sphere of influence (The original meaning of economic Lebensraum). In 1848 the revolutionary parliament in Frankfurt resolved that the Balkans were "part of Germany's natural economic hinterland" and that not significant Slavic state should be allowed in the area.

In 1999, after a generation of destabilisation by the Bundesnachrichtendienst, NATO air power destroyed Yugoslavia and put the policy into effect. The political map of the Balkans is now near-identical to what it was under the Nazis.

I only got interested in all this because of the EEC's Common Agricultural Policy which deeply affected my business. Nobody could tell me where the ideology behind this strange construct came from. I found the final answer in a series of papers entitled "European Economic Community", published in Berlin in 1942. Reichsminister Funk's paper can be found under the title "The EU's Evil Pedigree" on www.freenations.freeuk.com . I translated it.

The present rulers of Germany quite openly aspire to a "benevolent hegemony" over central Europe and the Balkans and it is certainly much more pleasant than either communism or nazism. But there is no reason at all for us to be part of it, to pay a penny piece towards it or to pretend that it is anything other than the continuation of well-known, long-held views and policies which have previously ended in tears.

To oppose these policies for what they are does not make me any more anti German than opposing that damned silly war in Afghanistan makes me anti British!

I have also written a short paper on the sort of agricultural policy we used to have and the workings of the CAP. Lord Stoddart of Swindon was kind enough to commend it.